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Direct Selling in the Age of the Pandemic
Jul 7, 2020, 09:00 AM by BBB National ProgramsCOVID-19 has left millions of Americans unemployed and seeking new solutions to help them navigate the tough road ahead. Some have turned to the direct selling industry, chasing claims of financial freedom. The attorneys of the Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC) have been hard at work investigating questionable product and earnings claims from direct selling companies and working to get those claims removed from circulation.Full story -
Influencers, Kids, COPPA, and Compliance to Kickoff CARU 2020
Jun 16, 2020, 09:00 AM by BBB National ProgramsOn May 28, the 2020 CARU Conference officially kicked off with a keynote from the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Andrew Smith, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. Andrew joined moderator Alice Cahn, Founder of Cahnworks and a legacy name in children’s media, for a virtual fireside chat about the changing landscape of child-directed content over the last few years.Full story -
The Mobile App Playground: Looking Out for Kids’ Data Privacy
Jun 11, 2020, 09:01 AM by BBB National ProgramsThe FTC has just announced that they have reached a settlement with children’s app developer, HyperBeard, for unlawfully collecting data from children, users under 13, and using it to target them for behavioral advertising, otherwise known as interest-based advertising. As a result of this settlement, HyperBeard is prohibited from using or benefitting from the personal data they have collected and must delete that data. On top of that? A settlement of $150,000.Full story -
Data Protection for Students Relying on a Virtual Learning Environment
May 20, 2020, 16:32 PM by BBB National ProgramsAmidst school closures and other education uncertainties, education technology, or “ed tech” is at the forefront of conversation. We rely on their online tools to facilitate learning in a virtual environment.Full story -
All About SWIFT: Resolving Straightforward Ad Disputes in a Matter of Weeks
May 18, 2020, 16:42 PM by BBB National ProgramsOn May 13, Laura Brett, VP of our National Advertising Division (NAD) joined Loeb & Loeb’s David Mallen to discuss the new Fast-Track SWIFT process. The SWIFT process has been officially launched and the NAD team has begun processing claims.Full story -
Protecting and Empowering Consumers: Recognizing False Advertising During COVID-19
May 14, 2020, 00:00 AM by BBB National ProgramsDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, some advertisers are capitalizing on the public’s fear, promising that products or treatments will protect consumers from this still relatively unknown virus.Full story -
Will the New Food Label Be the Gut Check That Motivates Consumer and Industry Changes?
May 8, 2020, 11:00 AM by BBB National ProgramsNational Nutrition Month, sponsored every March by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, urges consumers to start “Eating Right, Bite by Bite.”Full story -
Companies Agree to Strengthen their Children’s Advertising Commitments with CFBAI’s Updated Core Principles
May 6, 2020, 15:00 PM by BBB National ProgramsThe nation’s 19 leading food, beverage, and quick service restaurant companies today have agreed to strengthen their voluntary commitments for responsible food marketing to children with the adoption of the BBB National Programs Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) 2021 Core Principles.Full story -
Like Data for Chocolate
Apr 9, 2020, 09:00 AM by BBB National ProgramsOur recent Chocolate decision may seem complicated; it actually serves as an illustration of some very basic responsibilities from the DAA Principles. Collectively, companies’ responsibilities under the Principles all flow from two simple ideas. First, consumers need to know when interest-based advertising (IBA) happens on websites and mobile apps. Second, they should be able to opt out of it if they want to.Full story -
CFBAI: 13 years of Dynamic Self-Regulation
Mar 10, 2020, 00:00 AM by BBB National ProgramsThe Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) has been at work for almost 13 years helping address childhood obesity by improving the landscape of food advertising to children under age 12.Full story -
What You Should Know about the Direct Selling Industry
Feb 28, 2020, 10:00 AM by BBB National ProgramsDuring this year’s National Consumer Protection Week – a time to help people understand their consumer rights and make well-informed decisions about money -- BBB National Programs is sharing information about our programs and services to promote a better understanding of consumer protection in the direct selling industry.Full story -
The Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council
Feb 28, 2020, 09:00 AM by BBB National ProgramsIn 2019, the Direct Selling Association (DSA) and BBB National Programs, Inc. announced the creation of a new, third-party, self-regulatory organization called the Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC).Full story -
COPPA for App Developers
Jan 28, 2020, 11:00 AM by BBB National ProgramsAre you an app publisher looking to make it big with that addictive new game you’ve come up with? Does your imagination spawn brilliant, colorful worlds that are the perfect setting for that mobile app game? Are you looking at ways to monetize your new app with different types of third-party data collection, including interest-based advertising?Full story -
Top 5 Takeaways from the CCPA Hearings
Jan 23, 2020, 10:00 AM by BBB National ProgramsIn December, BBB National Programs staff attended the Attorney General hearings on the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).Full story -
CCPA is Here: How to Update Your Privacy Policy
Jan 21, 2020, 08:30 AM by BBB National ProgramsThe California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) went into effect on January 1, 2020. If your business is covered under CCPA, you may need to update your public privacy policy. In this post, we focus on the main changes that most businesses can expect to make to their privacy policies in order to align them with the requirements of CCPA.*Full story -
What is the California Consumer Privacy Act?
Jan 14, 2020, 10:45 AM by BBB National ProgramsMost Americans are unsure about how their personal data is collected, used, and shared (collectively, processed) by companies, and desire government-mandated protections to ensure they are not harmed by this activity.Full story -
Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number, Unless You Are Collecting It for Age-Screening Purposes
Jan 14, 2020, 09:45 AM by BBB National ProgramsMany of today’s tech-savvy children know that you must be at least 13 years old to use certain websites or mobile apps. This begs the question, is there a point to online age screening at all?Full story -
Location Data and Privacy
Jan 14, 2020, 09:45 AM by BBB National ProgramsIn today’s digital world, we carry around networked supercomputers that would make the machines that launched a rocket to the moon look laughable.Full story -
How to Protect Children’s Privacy Beyond Parental Controls
Jan 14, 2020, 09:45 AM by BBB National ProgramsChildren’s privacy is a hot topic in the media these days. It may seem like a new concern but we at the BBB National Programs’ Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) have been keeping an eye on it since the beginning.Full story -
FTC Stats On NAD Referrals
Aug 2, 2019, 15:45 PM by BBB National ProgramsBrands have been challenging the truthfulness of competing advertising campaigns for nearly 50 years at the Better Business Bureau’s National Advertising Division, a voluntary self-regulatory system put in place by the advertising industry to increase consumer trust in advertising.Full story
Other Blog Articles
Blog
Direct Selling in the Age of the Pandemic
COVID-19 has left millions of Americans unemployed and seeking new solutions to help them navigate the tough road ahead. Some have turned to the direct selling industry, chasing claims of financial freedom. The attorneys of the Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC) have been hard at work investigating questionable product and earnings claims from direct selling companies and working to get those claims removed from circulation.
Read more
Blog
Influencers, Kids, COPPA, and Compliance to Kickoff CARU 2020
On May 28, the 2020 CARU Conference officially kicked off with a keynote from the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Andrew Smith, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. Andrew joined moderator Alice Cahn, Founder of Cahnworks and a legacy name in children’s media, for a virtual fireside chat about the changing landscape of child-directed content over the last few years.
Read more
Blog
The Mobile App Playground: Looking Out for Kids’ Data Privacy
The FTC has just announced that they have reached a settlement with children’s app developer, HyperBeard, for unlawfully collecting data from children, users under 13, and using it to target them for behavioral advertising, otherwise known as interest-based advertising. As a result of this settlement, HyperBeard is prohibited from using or benefitting from the personal data they have collected and must delete that data. On top of that? A settlement of $150,000.
Read more
Blog
Data Protection for Students Relying on a Virtual Learning Environment
Amidst school closures and other education uncertainties, education technology, or “ed tech” is at the forefront of conversation. We rely on their online tools to facilitate learning in a virtual environment.
Read more